I had long wanted to catch this poliziottesco (which has never turned up on Italian TV) but was ultimately rather let down by it: the plot involves a buddy buddy partnership between two unlikely characters – prison warden Oliver Reed and petty criminal Fabio Testi. Director Sollima had already made the superior THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) on similar lines (the “Cult Movie” website claims this is a remake of it but I don’t buy that, as the narrative takes a wholly different direction).
The film, however, isn’t quite as engrossing as it should be and rather muddled into the bargain – but, at least, it looks good and is undeniably bolstered by a beautiful and typically effective Ennio Morricone score (reminiscent of his work, much later, on THE UNTOUCHABLES [1987]!). Reed is an ideally sturdy yet world-weary hero – but Testi is just okay in the role of his quarry/associate (though the English dubbing may have undermined his original performance), especially as he displays little of the cunning and deadly prowess which had characterized the Tomas Milian counterpart in THE BIG GUNDOWN…and, in any case, he’s ultimately established to have been merely a pawn in the game being waged! The female cast is comprised of lovely Agostina Belli (as Reed’s young wife, who’s kidnapped so as to ensure his collaboration) and Paola Pitagora (somewhat wasted as an underworld ‘groupie’ who briefly hooks up with Testi).
Even if the film doesn’t have the socio-political scope of THE BIG GUNDOWN, this element is belatedly introduced towards the end – leading to a curiously downbeat (and cynical) finale. While not plentiful, the action sequences are certainly as efficiently handled as any in this type of film (Sollima made at least one more poliziottesco – VIOLENT CITY [1970], which I’ll be getting to soon); still, the director seems less at ease within the ‘urban jungle’ landscape than he was in the wide-open spaces provided by the Spaghetti Western milieu.
The main supplement on the Blue Underground DVD is a 13-minute featurette consisting of separate interviews with Sollima and Testi. Among other things, the former admits to having been roped in at the last minute and claims that he finally agreed to make it on detecting connotations with another Spaghetti Western of his – FACE TO FACE (1967). Testi, a regular of action movies, takes pride in having done most of his own stunts (in fact, he had started out in films in this field!). Both, then, have complimentary things to say about the late Oliver Reed. There are also two Easter Eggs – one in which Sollima criticizes the film’s half-hearted publicity campaign (which he blames for its lack of box-office success), while the other is yet another anecdote pertaining to the film’s notoriously hell-raising British star.
The film, however, isn’t quite as engrossing as it should be and rather muddled into the bargain – but, at least, it looks good and is undeniably bolstered by a beautiful and typically effective Ennio Morricone score (reminiscent of his work, much later, on THE UNTOUCHABLES [1987]!). Reed is an ideally sturdy yet world-weary hero – but Testi is just okay in the role of his quarry/associate (though the English dubbing may have undermined his original performance), especially as he displays little of the cunning and deadly prowess which had characterized the Tomas Milian counterpart in THE BIG GUNDOWN…and, in any case, he’s ultimately established to have been merely a pawn in the game being waged! The female cast is comprised of lovely Agostina Belli (as Reed’s young wife, who’s kidnapped so as to ensure his collaboration) and Paola Pitagora (somewhat wasted as an underworld ‘groupie’ who briefly hooks up with Testi).
Even if the film doesn’t have the socio-political scope of THE BIG GUNDOWN, this element is belatedly introduced towards the end – leading to a curiously downbeat (and cynical) finale. While not plentiful, the action sequences are certainly as efficiently handled as any in this type of film (Sollima made at least one more poliziottesco – VIOLENT CITY [1970], which I’ll be getting to soon); still, the director seems less at ease within the ‘urban jungle’ landscape than he was in the wide-open spaces provided by the Spaghetti Western milieu.
The main supplement on the Blue Underground DVD is a 13-minute featurette consisting of separate interviews with Sollima and Testi. Among other things, the former admits to having been roped in at the last minute and claims that he finally agreed to make it on detecting connotations with another Spaghetti Western of his – FACE TO FACE (1967). Testi, a regular of action movies, takes pride in having done most of his own stunts (in fact, he had started out in films in this field!). Both, then, have complimentary things to say about the late Oliver Reed. There are also two Easter Eggs – one in which Sollima criticizes the film’s half-hearted publicity campaign (which he blames for its lack of box-office success), while the other is yet another anecdote pertaining to the film’s notoriously hell-raising British star.